Best Milkshake

The Diner

2453 18th St NW, Washington, DC 20009, (202) 232-8800

The Diner’s milkshake has only two ingredients—milk and ice cream—proving that a great shake doesn’t require chocolate sauce, malt, ice-milk, or fancy added flavors to make its case. What a shake does need is a perfect consistency, which the Diner produces consistently. Shakes are mixed by a Hamilton Beach machine used exclusively for that purpose. The result is nice and thick, but the insides of your cheeks won’t touch while trying to suck it through a straw, unless you want that. Any shake ($4.85) can be custom-ordered thinner or thicker than the norm, and all arrive with the extra in a stainless steel cup, a necessity for any milkshake worthy of the name. As for the ambience, go before or after the weekend parade of frat boys and skanks if you want to treat the kids to one of the three available flavors: vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry—the classics.